Marie Gillain

Actor

Born: 18 June 1975

Birthplace: Liege, Belgium

Best known as:

The young star of the film My Father the Hero

Marie Gillain was only 16 when she made a splash as a precocious teenager in the French hit My Father the Hero (1991, with Gerard Depardieu). American art-house audiences know her mainly as the adopted daughter (and, oddly, love interest) of Daniel Autiel in the 1997 swashbuckler On Guard (French title Le Bossu). She also played Adrienne Chanel, the aunt and playmate of Coco Chanel, in the 2009 biopic Coco Avant Chanel (with Audrey Tautou as Coco). Marie Gillain's other films include Absolument fabuleux (2001), L'Enfer (2005) and Toutes nos envies (2011). She also has made many appearances for Lancome cosmetics.

Extra credit:

My Father the Hero was remade in English in 1994, again with Gerard Depardieu as the father but with American actress Katherine Heigl replacing Marie Gillain.